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December 10, 2007


Hello from Niagara Falls: Luxury and Coziness at the Kilpatrick Manor B&B

Of all the different types of travel that I have done, one type of experience remains consistently at the top of my list: bed and breakfasts. I am a real sucker for family-owned businesses and for unique accommodation environments. And after many dozens of visits to different bed and breakfasts in different countries, there is one thing I can say for sure – bed and breakfasts are always unique. From the personality of the hosts to the décor to the sometimes unconventional breakfast offerings, every bed and breakfast is truly one of a kind.


Kilpatrick Manor B&B, with Kevin Kilpatrick in front

So no wonder I was looking forward to getting acquainted with the people behind the Kilpatrick Manor B&B, my first bed and breakfast experience in Niagara Falls, Ontario. When I arrived on Friday afternoon, Nance Kilpatrick, who owns this property with her husband Kevin, was already waiting for me and helped me to get to my room with my luggage. After I settled in Nance gave me a tour of her B&B and then we had a chance to sit down in the dining room for an interview.

Kilpatrick Manor has been in operation for about two years now and is a stately Victorian era mansion on Second Street in Niagara Falls. Nance explained that it was custom-built in 1891 for a former Niagara Parks Commissioner. Today it features three luxuriously appointed guest bedrooms, all equipped with upscale features such as ultra-modern ensuite bathrooms, fireplaces, sitting areas, HD TV, DVDs and movies, antique furniture and high quality linens. The owners’ special touch includes bathrobes and slippers, upscale bath products, fresh flowers, fridges, ironing boards and wine glasses and corkscrews for that special celebration. I particularly enjoyed the wireless high-speed Internet access.


Nance Kilpatrick, my gracious hostess

Kilpatrick Manor is a popular getaway for couples, and one of its special features is a Romantic Massage Package that features two nights accommodation including two gourmet breakfasts in bed and two full body massages. Nance and Kevin Kilpatrick work with some of Niagara Falls’s top massage professionals to pamper their guests and put them into a state of blissful relaxation.

As I was curious to see the whole property, Nance showed me all the luxurious bedrooms and bathrooms, whose names were all inspired by family members. While Kevin is usually in charge of building maintenance, renovations and cooking, Nance is primarily responsible for decorating, cleaning and guest services. We sat down in the spacious Victorian-era dining room so I would be able to find out more about the entrepreneurial young couple that has created this special retreat.


The Hunniford Room - my home for two nights

Nance has always had a penchant for hospitality so she went to college to study travel and tourism in Peterborough, Ontario. Because she was considered too young to become a tour escort she went into the hospitality industry. Nance mentioned that her husband Kevin also has a long standing attachment to the hospitality industry, having been a chef in different locations around the globe.

Both Nance and Kevin have long had a passion for hospitality and travel and a few years ago they decided they wanted to explore the globe while working. So when they answered an ad for a B&B host in the French Alps they embarked on one of the biggest adventures in their whole life. They took on the responsibility for running a local chalet that could host 27 travellers. Most of the clientele was from Britain and came to this resort area for the fabulous skiing. Kevin was the chef and handled breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner while Nance helped with serving, cooking and even did some nanny work.


Luxurious bedroom at Kilpatrick Manor

Nance is enthusiastic about their experience in France – the couple worked extremely hard, but they also had time to explore the local area and do some skiing. This was a very intense learning experience, getting used to running a large chalet and along the way handling various interesting intra-European cross-cultural issues between the local French people and the British travelers.

Their adventure in France lasted from the winter of 2001 to the spring of 2002. After the couple’s return to Canada and spending some time renting, the couple bought the impressive Victorian property that was to become their B&B in November of 2002 and over the next three years turned it into today’s upscale Kilpatrick Manor. In order to be able to create a bed and breakfast, the property had to be rezoned and architectural plans had to be drawn up. As with many older properties, numerous challenges came up along the way: interconnected fire alarms, insulation, new drywall, a new electrical system and three brand-new bathrooms had to be installed. All the necessary fire safety regulations and building codes had to be met. Nancy freely admits that they had no idea what they had gotten themselves into – construction lasted for a full two years and their first child was only nine months old when Kilpatrick Manor finally opened its doors for the first time.


Brand-new ensuite bathrooms

Nance’s decorating talent is evident throughout the entire house. It is her personal touch in the colour schemes, furniture selection and accessories that has created such a harmonious upscale environment. When they were ready to open their bed and breakfast, they had run out of money. So they opened the Chrysler Room first, and Kevin had to learn all sorts of renovation tasks from scratch. As a result of all their hard work, their first guests gave them a glowing review and business was starting to move into the right direction. Altogether the couple created three upscale guest rooms, all with their own brand-new luxury bathrooms. Initially they also wanted to convert the attic into living space, but the stairs would have had to come through one of the bedrooms, a complication that forced them to discard this idea. Their goal is to create a fourth bedroom out of their own personal bedroom which they vacated when they purchased a property across the street.


The dining room at Kilpatrick Manor B&B

With bed and breakfast owners the demarcation of private living space and public guest space is always a delicate issue. Particularly in Canada, the concept of bed and breakfasts usually involves the property owner living on site. Nance and Kevin have found a creative solution to this dilemma and now live in another house on the same street, just steps away. This gives them the necessary privacy for their own family, which today includes two small children, yet they are still close enough to the property when a guest needs something. I can personally attest to that since I had problems with my keys on Friday night. When I gave Kevin a call he arrived within less than a minute to help me and show me how to properly lock the door.


High style and coziness

In order to spend quality time with their children, Nance and Kevin Kilpatrick have also found a creative way to distribute their work responsibilities. Kevin is usually on site in the morning, handles breakfast and leaves around noon. Nance then comes in to take care of the cleaning and look after check-in until about 6:30 pm. Nance smiles and says that they are a great tag team. Next year they plan to hire cleaning help which will allow them to spend more time working together on site again. Nance in particular misses the interaction with the guests that she would normally be enjoying over breakfast. Entrepreneurs with a young family often have to find creative solutions for arranging their working life and their family time.

Many of the couple’s regular guests have actually met the children and often inquire about them. Nance added that over time many of their repeat visitors have become friends and Nance is looking forward to having more of a chance in the future to socialize with the guests again. Guests at the Kilpatrick Manor B&B are usually also quite young, between 25 and 45 years of age, slightly different from the traditionally older bed and breakfast traveling crowd. Many of the guests arrive for a special weekend escape or to celebrate a special occasion such as engagements, birthdays or anniversaries. Most of the clients come from within a three hour radius, which includes Ohio, New York State, New Jersey and Ontario, and on average they stay two nights.


Attention to detail

Nance added that the Ontario tourism industry was hit quite hard by 911 and the after-effects of the SARS epidemic of 2003. Recent changes to US government regulations require US travelers to hold passports to cross into Canada, and the higher Canadian dollar has increased cross-border shopping and wait times at the Canada-US border. Despite these factors, Kilpatrick Manor has been very successful in establishing itself as a choice destination for bed and breakfast travel in Niagara Falls.

One of the main reasons for this is that hospitality is a passion for both Nance and Kevin Kilpatrick. Guests enjoy the broad selection of activities on offer in the Niagara Falls area. Travellers can explore the local history, partake of the many entertainment offerings in the city or explore the nearby countryside, do some golfing or visit one of the numerous wineries in the area. Nance added that many guests also like to go on ghost tours as Niagara Falls is one of the most haunted areas in Canada. The choice of recreational activities in this region is virtually endless.

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Kevin Kilpatrick, a consummate chef

In addition to meeting my hostess Nance I also had a chance to meet Kevin, the other half of the Kilpatrick Manor hospitality team. On Saturday morning over breakfast I snagged Kevin to find out a bit about his personal background, his experience and his passion for the hospitality business. In his gregarious and friendly manner, Kevin started to explain that he has been a professional chef for many years. During his extensive travels he has gained international hospitality experience and often told his staff members that “there are not a lot of perks in cooking. But people need to eat everywhere, so why not take advantage of that and cook in all sorts of interesting places?”

Kevin’s longest international chef experiences include the six-month stint he did with Nance in France. He has also worked as a chef in Venezuela and various places throughout Europe. For a long time he was the executive chef at a restaurant in Burlington, Ontario, and currently he still is the executive chef at a popular resort in Niagara Falls, although he is presently on parental leave.


Scrumptious breakfasts

His adventure in France provided Kevin with a humorous anecdote: during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the hockey game was being broadcast, and Kevin, while out at a pub, asked if the owners could turn the television to the hockey game. The French pub owners responded “What is hockey?” So Kevin explained that ice hockey is Canada’s national sport and that the Canadian team was just about to play the American team for the Olympic gold medal. Shortly after, the TV station was turned to show the hockey game and the French audience promptly started to cheer for the Canadian team. Kevin will forever remember this special hockey game.

A small sampling of the breakfast choices at the Kilpatrick Manor include a standard “full-on fry” (a typical breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes and toast), breakfast ravioli (a delicacy I was to sample myself), sautéed-apple-stuffed French toast with Frangelico syrop and candied cashews with cinnamon whipped cream. All main breakfast dishes are accompanied by fresh fruit and freshly baked goods.


Delectable breakfast ravioli

Being a consummate chef, Kevin now also offers catering services and his kitchen is now fully licensed to handle catering. He also provides in-home catering, offering the convenience of gourmet-cooked meals at the client’s site. In addition to catering, more plans are in store for Kilpatrick Manor: Kevin is planning to redo the Victorian living room which is big enough to hold 12 to 14 people. This will allow him to host a variety of special events in his property, from weddings and engagements to anniversary dinners and other celebrations.

My own first-hand experience at Kilpatrick Manor was characterized by great hospitality. From Nance’s warm greeting upon my arrival and a tour of the premises to two scrumptious breakfasts prepared by chef Kevin himself I felt welcome and pampered all along. I loved the light yet tasty breakfast ravioli – incidentally the first time I had pasta for breakfast. The breakfast on my second day was even more scrumptious: strawberry crepes with a Grand Marnier sauce – simply to die for.


Sitting area in a guest bedroom

Despite my very hectic schedule in Niagara Falls I had a bit of a chance to relax in my beautiful room and enjoy the high-definition television, the fireplace and the full-body Neptune shower, a real treat on cold winter days. Kilpatrick Manor turned out to be the perfect place to do a bit of luxurious “nesting” away from home. I just hope next time I’ll have a bit more time to relax and maybe even indulge in the in-room spa service.



Useful Books:

     

Related Articles:
Hello from Niagara Falls: Helicopters & Butterflies - an uplifting experience
Hello from Niagara Falls: City of lights and magic
Hello from Niagara Falls: Getting up close with the Great Falls
Hello from Niagara Falls: Bird Kingdom and Oh Canada Eh?
Hello from Niagara Falls: Luxury and coziness at Kilpatrick Manor B&B
Hello from Niagara Falls: Clifton Hill and a bit of gambling
An interview with Niagara Falls Tourism

Useful Links:

Niagara Falls Tourism
Kilpatrick Manor B&B


Video Clips:

My arrival at the Kilpatrick Manor B&B:

 

An interview with Nance Kilpatrick, exploring the owner's story:

 

The luxurious Chrysler Room:

 

The romantic McKinnon Room:

 

Presenting Kevin Kilpatrick: co-owner and chef:

 

Breakfast ravioli - my first ever pasta breakfast

 

 

 

 

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